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v1.0.0 — Patternflow LED Synthesizer

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@engmung engmung released this 25 Apr 23:52
· 367 commits to main since this release
v1.0.0
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Learn about vigilant mode.

The first publicly buildable version of Patternflow.

This is the result of about a month of work — from the first sine-wave patterns on a web simulator, to the LED matrix prototype shot in a park at midnight, to ten hours of soldering chasing what turned out to be a broken potentiometer, to a Reddit thread that got 1.6k upvotes, to a sponsored PCB run with PCBway, to this release.

Patternflow is an open-source LED synthesizer: four rotary encoders controlling generative light patterns on a 128×64 LED matrix, powered by ESP32-S3. It reinterprets Nam June Paik's Participation TV (1963) as an object you can keep at home — hang on the wall, set on a desk, play with your hands.

Patternflow v1.0 — three-quarter view of the device, showing the white case, four black knobs, and 128×64 LED matrix Playing Patternflow — first-person view of a hand turning one of the rotary encoders while the LED matrix displays a generative pattern

What's in this release

Hardware

  • 128×64 px HUB75 LED matrix (P2.5)
  • ESP32-S3-N16R8 (16MB Flash, 8MB PSRAM)
  • 4× EC11 rotary encoders with push-switches
  • Custom PCB (KiCad source + Gerber zip + schematic PDF)
  • 3D-printed PLA case (Blender source + print-ready STLs)
  • Powered by user-supplied USB power bank

Firmware

  • Arduino-based firmware for ESP32-S3
  • HUB75 DMA driver
  • Default pattern set
  • OTA support (wired upload recommended for v1.0)

Documentation

  • Build Guide — full BOM and assembly walkthrough
  • Roadmap — what's next
  • AI agent harness (.agents/) — the development methodology, also open-sourced

Known issues

This release ships with five known rough edges, all documented in BUILD.md §8. The most notable: the ESP32-S3 needs a reset button press once after power-up. Will be fixed in v1.1 with an EN-GND cap. PRs welcome.

What's next

  • Web-based pattern editor and flasher (in development)
  • v1.1 PCB revision with EN-GND fix and silkscreen cleanup
  • Wall-mount case variant
  • More patterns

License

  • Firmware & web: MIT
  • Hardware & designs: CC-BY-SA 4.0
  • "Patternflow" is a trademark of SeungHun Lee

Acknowledgments

  • PCBway — for sponsoring v1.0 PCB fabrication
  • r/arduino community — the 1.6k-upvote thread that pushed this from a personal project toward open source
  • Doyoon — for the suggestion that started the LED matrix direction

If you build one, I'd love to see it. Open an issue with photos, or just star the repo if it interests you.

— SeungHun

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